New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel has asked oil ministry and DGH to closely monitor Reliance Industries' flagging KG-D6 gas fields saying any production decline should be supported by proper evaluation.

RIL's KG-D6 fields have seen output drop by about 45 percent to less than 34 million standard cubic meters per day in the past two years.

The Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas in its report on Demands for Grants for the ministry, stated that the production from KG-D6 fields should be in line with the target set.

The current production is less than half of the output estimated for this time of the year in RIL's USD 8.8 billion investment plan for the block.

"Any decline in natural gas production ... should be supported by proper evaluation," the panel said in its report tabled in Parliament on Monday.

The oil ministry and its technical arm, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) "should monitor these fields closely and take all steps that are required to maintain and increase the production of natural gas from these fields and make them available for the nation's requirement," it added.

The ministry in its submission to the committee stated that RIL and its partners have been advised to drill more gas producer wells on D1 and D3 gas fields in KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block. Also, they have been asked to adopt appropriate remedial measures such as well intervention to revive sick or closed wells on D1 and D3 as well as MA oilfield in the block.

Also, the Optimised Field Development Plan for 4 other gas discoveries (D-2, 6, 19 and 22) in the block has been approved and another find (D-34) has been declared commercially viable, the ministry told the panel adding RIL's revised field development plan for MA oilfield was under examination.

"The issue of falling gas production in KG-D6 block has been deliberated in various technical committee meetings held between operator (RIL) and DGH including the field visit by DGH technical team to ascertain the reasons for less gas production," the ministry submitted to the Committee.